Dec 27, 2010

Christmas celebration was held every year at the settlement. Unfortunately, last year it was nationally announced that the celebration was cancelled. I was told that this year, the celebration would be on and had decided to make a trip there on Christmas eve. A local told me that there would be people dancing, partying and performances by the Portuguese people as well as a live countdown.

Well...... no performances this year during eve. Only to discover that this year the celebration had been postponed to the 26th December 2010. Malaysia's National Christmas Celebration was held at the Portuguese Settlement Malacca on 26th December 2010. However, this did not affect the festive spirit. It was all worth the trip at the end of the day.

The sight of Christmas lights and decorations there was breathtaking. Houses were so beautifully decorated with Christmas lights.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Aik Cheong, one of the sponsors.

Another sponsor, Julie's Biscuits. You can see giant Julie biscuits in a huge tin and boxes there.

Most there on the Christmas eve were kids, teenagers and youngsters. Many we equipped with a snow spray on hand, ready at any moment when the clock strikes 12 midnight. Party sprays was less popular as compared to the latter.

At the count of 5, 4, 3, 2,1! Fire!!!! We certainly enjoyed ourselves.

And the air was filled with party snow.

Hardly had enough air to breath with all the snow sprays firing into the air.

26th December marks the end of our vacation to Malacca in 2010. We got to drop by for a short for the 26th December, National Christmas Celebration before heading back home. More adults and family can be seen here.

Ushers dressed in beautiful "Baju Kebaya" welcoming the VIPs and guests of honours.

Nonetheless, we didn't get to watch any of the performances before heading back.

The goodies bag we got at the National Christmas Celebration. Have a can of Power Champ, isotonic drink and a bottle of mineral water too actually. Were so deprived of H20, finished it before we got home.

Dec 21, 2010

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder ~

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale ~

Love the theme this year which brings back great childhood memories of the toys and bears I used to play with. Reminds me as well of the movies like Toy Story, The Christmas Toy and The Nutcracker where all the toys come to live.

Take me home!

There are giant bears almost everywhere around the stage at Centre Court, Ground Floor. So fluffy, soft and nice to hug. It feels so warm this Christmas. I saw a bear with extremely long legs too. It was really crowded that day in the afternoon, difficult to get a photo clear without people blocking the view or walking right in front of you while you were taking a photo.

Come earlier in the morning to avoid the crowd which builds up in the afternoon during weekends.

Wonder why why, this is usually portrayed as the "bad" or "evil" character in toy movies.

Maybe because, popping up all of the sudden just scares people. But, he looks just kind in here.

A little snowman that brings a present to your heart.

Ginger bread man is enjoying his ride with teddy and a giant pony. Weeeeeee! Here we go!

She's so adorable!

Balloon Giveaways:

You can catch cheerful assistants as they hand out bunches of floating balloons that come in different shapes and colours from 3rd Dec 2010 - 2nd Jan 2011 mall wide, 12pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm.

Can't stop myself from hugging it. Love these baby dolls. She's so lovely. Reminds me of a doll that I used to have when I was little.

Round and round we go....

Meet Santa!

You can Meet Santa and have a 4R photo and present for Santa for a minimum of RM 10. All proceeds from this will be donated to charity. Santa was there from 11-25th December 2010 on Weekday: 12.30pm & 6.30pm and Weekend: 12.30 pm, 4.30 pm & 6.30 pm.

Ushers were even there to try to make everyone smile for the photo, especially the little kids. Equipped with party poppers to cheer kids with an upside down smile! If you brought a camera of your own, you can ask the ushers at the photo taking session to help you take photos. Many families took this opportunity to have a family portrait. The children's Christmas was made extra special with Santa's appearance.

After the photo was taken by the Foto Shangri-La Team, you can get it around 2 hours later or otherwise claim it within a month from the photo booth.

Dec 13, 2010

This is a photo taken at Pandamaran New Village also known as Kampung Baru Pandamaran in Malay, Klang, Selangor from the car window while travelling recently. The skies were brilliant. It was a bright sunny day and hot weather!

Pandamaran New Village is an emerging township which is also the second largest as well as the second oldest Chinese new village in Malaysia.

The origin of the name Pandamaran is closely related to a tropical tree known as Damar. This tree is geographically located in many regions of South East Asia. Its bark yields an unusual clear, pale, yellow damar resins principally used in paints and varnishes. Pandamaran’s original name was Pendamaran. It carries with it the meaning of a place where Damar tree can be found. This proves that this place was rich in the production of damar resin.

Pandamaran's history traces back to year 1950. The village was built after the Malayan Emergency situation. The British colony needed to destroy the communism influence and thus had gathered all the Chinese residents mostly from Kuala Langat and Kuala Selangor. The purpose of this was to keep the inhabitants in and the guerrillas out. The village was surrounded by barbed wire back in the 50s. There were two checkpoints at the where both gates, were opened 6 am and closes at 6 pm.

Today, Pandamaran New Village is served by excellent road connections. There's even a 3-star hotel, sports complex, hockey stadium, and public swimming pool. The distance from other city and township such as Kuala Lumpur is 30 km while the distance from Klang town is 2 km.